New Zealand Earthquake (2011)

Natural disasters in 2012 cost insurance companies about $58 billion, making it the second-most expensive year ever in the U.S., exceeded only by 2005 when hurricanes Katrina and Rita smashed into the Gulf Coast.

Far and away the biggest factor in the total was storm Sandy, accounting for more than $25 billion, or 43 percent of the year's total, in insurance claims on damaged homes, cars and businesses, according to a new report released Thursday by Munich Reinsurance America Inc.

Sandy made landfall Oct. 29, killing more than 110 people, flooding the coastal Northeast, blowing down houses, ripping up roads and toppling buildings in a wide swath of devastation across the...

Related "New Zealand Earthquake (2011)" Articles

Natural disasters in 2012 cost insurance companies about $58 billion, making it the second-most expensive year ever in the U.S., exceeded only by 2005 when hurricanes Katrina and Rita smashed into the Gulf Coast.
Far and away the biggest factor in the...